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What about fasting? what about Intermittent Fasting? , I need help!!!
slim168mfp
Posts: 20 Member
I have heard about Intermittent Fasting, but, I want the truth about this type of fasting from a layman's standpoint. Please help!!
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Replies
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It helps some people stay on track and meet their calorie goals. That's about it.10
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Is there anything wrong with fasting, or would you suggest something else.0
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slim168mfp wrote: »Is there anything wrong with fasting, or would you suggest something else.
What do you mean by "something else"?
A calorie deficit is needed to lose weight.
IF can be used to help control appetite for some and help them stay within a calorie deficit or calorie goal.
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I've never tried it and do not plan to. I'm sure I would way overeat the next day and feel sluggish. I will just stick to my 5 small meals a day.3
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SWEET!1
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leanjogreen18 wrote: »slim168mfp wrote: »Is there anything wrong with fasting, or would you suggest something else.
What do you mean by "something else"?
A calorie deficit is needed to lose weight.
IF can be used to help control appetite for some and help them stay within a calorie deficit or calorie goal.
Thankyou for your kindness .1 -
I'm IF 5:2. First two weeks barely made 24 hours at 600 cals. On week three I notice that even non fast days I'm nowhere near as hungry. And I struggle to hit 1400 cals (even after normal workouts). Even one day of fasting (or near fasting) can break a plateau if you come out of it gently (for me: a little juice, then couple crackers with pb, later some grapes)6
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I normally eat three meals per day 3-4 hours apart, and that qualifies as intermittent fasting... go figure. I just think it's easy to stick to. The truth is that it's the adherance to calorie allowance that controls your weight.2
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I'll copy my comments from the http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10538126/fasting#latest thread...StealthHealth wrote: »To chime in again I thought it might be useful to say...
- On and off I've used fasting protocols for about 5 years now, so it is easily sustainable.
- I started using the 5:2 diet and later progressed to IF (8:16). I've kind of settled into a 6:18 type thing.
- When cutting or maintaining I fast about 29 days or the month, only eating a "breakfast" type meal as a special event or family type thing (when bulking I need to eat more frequently to get the calories in)
- I've played around with longer fasts and they were OK but not for me on a regular basis.
- I've read a lot about fasting and although I have my own personal opinion on the benefits, my reading of the studies (I restricted my searches to Human iso-calorific studies) tells me that there is no benefit of fasting over that of eating the same number of calories over a longer period*
- I often work out fasted and do not see a dip in my lifting performance or running times when fasted (unless I embark on a long steady state run of greater than about an hour)
- I was very surprised when I started fasting about how easy it was to forgo food for long periods and for this reason I recommend that anyone attempting fasting tracks their weekly calories to ensure that the are neither under eating or overeating.
- I enjoy the simplicity of fasting and it does allow me to hit my calories even when I have a family event or special meal planned.
* My last data search on all this was about a year ago - there may be new stuff I've not seem and there is also the fact that my searching skills are not up to the job. As such, I would be happy to be proven wrong on this point. There are several opinion pieces which talk about the autophagy argument and the increase in autophagy when fasted, but there doesn't seem to be any studies (that I'm aware of) that show that the increased autophagy levels seen in fasted humans results in a health benefit (although it may well turn out to be the case).
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Too vague - fasting as a term encompasses such a range from giving up chocolate for Easter to very extended periods of eating nothing.slim168mfp wrote: »Is there anything wrong with fasting, or would you suggest something else.
So the answer to your question could be all the way from nothing wrong with it all to very harmful.
There's many different protocols, some will suit some people and make adherence easier, some will be absolute hell and counter-productive for some people.
Personally I enjoyed 5:2 for weight loss and found it far easier (for me) than everyday restriction.
On the other hand I didn't enjoy 16:8 at maintenance and it wouldn't have conferred any benefits for me for weight loss (I can eat a lot in a short time period!).
It's an opportunity to learn something about your eating habits, perhaps learn what hunger really is (is this feeling true hunger or am I just bored/tired/stuck in a routine/plain greedy?).
Perhaps a way to shake up your diet choices and routine.
Overall potentially a useful method for some to manage their calorie allowance better.
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slim168mfp wrote: »Is there anything wrong with fasting, or would you suggest something else.
There's nothing wrong with fasting, but no need to do it.
I'd distinguish between occasional all day fasts, which some do for religious reasons, which aren't part of a planned eating schedule and have nothing to do with weight loss, and IF. With IF, which can be part of a planned weight loss or maintenance regime, you "fast" for a certain amount of time and then eat (sometimes freely, sometimes not) at the other times. You usually do not fast for a full day. It's not necessary (I don't do it, although I find it generally helpful to eat according to a schedule of 3 meals and not at other times), but some people find it helpful in controlling calories or appetite.
Main ways to do IF:
(1) by day, usually eat at maintenance (or without counting, if you find that works for you) 5 days a week, and eat 500 calories only (or sometimes 25% of maintenance) on the other two days. Some do this every other day, but I think the every other day program is more focused on eating freely on the non fasting day.
(2) By limiting the eating window on every day. For example, 20:4 means that you eat only during 4 consecutive hours and not during the other 20 (maybe the eating window is 4 pm to 8 pm). 16:8, which seems to be a common one, means eating during 8 hours, not the other 16 (6-7 of which will presumably involve sleep anyway). So eat between noon and 8 -- most can achieve this kind of thing just by skipping breakfast (some prefer to structure it to skip dinner if they like breakfast).
Neither of these is necessary or improves performance over some other way of achieving a calorie deficit, but if you struggle with wanting to eat or thinking about food all the time or appetite, they can help, and some say having a better sense of what being hungry really feels like helps too.3 -
I'm personally not a big fan if fast that last all day, they strike me as barbaric. But I have seen the eating window thing work really well to quickly drop weight while still being able eat pretty normally between the times.
Your body starts to burn off fat reserves if you don't eat for about twelwe hours so if you eat three meals a day that build muscle and have a twelve hour gap for fat burn than you can drop weight without starving yourself for a day.1 -
I do IF. I do 18:6. For me, I noticed that if I ate breakfast, I was ravenous all day long and I would always go over my calorie limit. By eating between 2-8 pm, my hunger has significantly decreased and I can stay within my calorie goal. This is the only way I have been able to lose weight. It's not for everyone, but it has certainly helped me.7
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I have done IF for years.
The biggest benefit for me is the mental state, teaching me that hunger is not bad.
But if you don't eat for your goals, IF on itself is not a solution.3 -
I fast for non-weight related purposes. It makes me appreciate food more, makes me feel more satisfied on small portions, and makes me more aware of the food crisis other humans in other places are in. It also kind of resets me mentally, keeping me focused on my goal, and makes me feel powerful, reminds me that I am able to ignore hunger and resist the urge to snack. I don't really eat to compensate before or afterwards, though.3
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I'm planning to start IF when I get close to my goal weight. I think it will benefit my health and help me maintain my weight as I shift to normal eating vs my very disciplined approach now.
This BBC video is a good introduction Eat, Fast & Live Longer
There are quite a few Groups here on fasting that you can join for more detailed information. Here's one on the 5/2 Fast. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/8628-5-2-diet2 -
It helps some people stay on track and meet their calorie goals. That's about it.
This^
Everything else is just noise to sell books. I have a 5:2 book written in part by Dr. Mosely (he's now selling a blood type diet book).....UK's Dr Oz (?). Anyway all the "proof" in this book is anecdotal. My blood tests before.....my blood tests after kind of thing. How would his blood tests have changed just by regular dieting.....did he start exercise.....did he eat a Mediterranean diet..... his genetics. Tons of things could influenced his blood tests after. There's no way of knowing that 5:2 is responsible.
Zig-zagging your calories or eating windows aren't exactly new. Just find a method that helps you stick to your daily goals.2 -
I'm IF 5:2. First two weeks barely made 24 hours at 600 cals. On week three I notice that even non fast days I'm nowhere near as hungry. And I struggle to hit 1400 cals (even after normal workouts). Even one day of fasting (or near fasting) can break a plateau if you come out of it gently (for me: a little juice, then couple crackers with pb, later some grapes)
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Please tell me more about your journey with IF...thid is so cool!!0
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I'm IF 5:2. First two weeks barely made 24 hours at 600 cals. On week three I notice that even non fast days I'm nowhere near as hungry. And I struggle to hit 1400 cals (even after normal workouts). Even one day of fasting (or near fasting) can break a plateau if you come out of it gently (for me: a little juice, then couple crackers with pb, later some grapes)
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Can we talk more please? ?!!0
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YvetteK2015 wrote: »I do IF. I do 18:6. For me, I noticed that if I ate breakfast, I was ravenous all day long and I would always go over my calorie limit. By eating between 2-8 pm, my hunger has significantly decreased and I can stay within my calorie goal. This is the only way I have been able to lose weight. It's not for everyone, but it has certainly helped me.
Lovely, can we talk more please?0 -
Hey Slim, it is really easy. I did daily 24:1 fasts for an extended amount of time (I would only eat a giant meal once a day). I have physiologist friends at the university and they say there are hormonal benefits to IF. I cannot confirm this, I didn't have myself tested but I will say that I did notice an increase of hair-growth when I was fasting. I did not experience all those anecdotal sensations that you often hear about IF diets: stuff like I had mental clarity. It isn't rocket science. At the end of the day, it is just re-organizing your kcals. I did it because I found it convenient to not think about feeding except once a day.4
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I skip breakfast daily so I can eat late into the night... IF by default I guess2
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OP, this is a very active fasting group http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/20634-omad-revolution
It's one meal every 23 hours - pretty much doing that same thing every day.
Participants in the group keep an individual thread journal of what it feels like, its benefits, rate of weight loss, what they eat (with pictures), etc.
There's plenty of discussion going on there and all of your questions will be answered.
Thankyou Newmeadow!!!1 -
I'm into week 3 of IF doing 5:2 at 800 cal on fasting days. Lost 5kg so far but main reason for doing it is because of the other health benefits, weight loss is an added bonus. My sister has type 2 diabetes and I don't want to end up the same. I find on non fasting I relax my eating habits but don't binge, in fact meal sizes are way smaller. I'm loving it (most of the time).1
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I do 16:8 (although some days it's more like 18:6), and I find it's great for controlling my hunger. And it makes me think about what I really want to eat rather than what's just sitting around.
There's an IF group if you want to check it out, lots of different experiences and tips.5 -
slim168mfp wrote: »I have heard about Intermittent Fasting, but, I want the truth about this type of fasting from a layman's standpoint. Please help!!
If one is Insulin dependent working with their doctor is always a good idea. I find IF a good what to get back into nutritional ketosis if drop out for a few days or longer.
IF forces one to make ketones for the brain, heart and muscles vs just burning glucose.
Best of success and welcome to MFP forums @slim168mfp .0 -
ABballet4227 wrote: »I'm personally not a big fan if fast that last all day, they strike me as barbaric. But I have seen the eating window thing work really well to quickly drop weight while still being able eat pretty normally between the times.
Your body starts to burn off fat reserves if you don't eat for about twelwe hours so if you eat three meals a day that build muscle and have a twelve hour gap for fat burn than you can drop weight without starving yourself for a day.
Barbaric is a rather strong term. I can easily not eat for 24 hours, especially if i start my fast after my evening meal, and start eating again 24 hours later. If it not uncomfortable for me, nor does it hinder my performance in exercise or other areas. There is not metabolic slow down for up to 72 hours either. So, why do you call it barbaric?6 -
Is this a debate or a cry for help?
If it's a debate ... I think it has it's place. I do it in my own way every day.
If it's a cry for help ... try it and see what you think after you have tried it.
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